EDITORIALS: Moving on Mildred’s

Thursday

Nov 22, 2012 at 2:00 AMNov 22, 2012 at 11:00 PM

The Barnstable Airport Commission believes that its has taken a number of actions in deference to the desires of the town with regard to the former Mildred’s Chowder House property, which it owns and manages.

Patriot Staff

The Barnstable Airport Commission believes that its has taken a number of actions in deference to the desires of the town with regard to the former Mildred’s Chowder House property, which it owns and manages.

Over the past decade, the airport commission was in a weak position because of its need and desire to replace its aging terminal. The inability of the airport to develop a reasonable set of plans and reliable cost estimate certainly didn’t help its cause. Many of the lumps it took in the decade or so of planning fits and starts prior to the arrival of Airport Manager Bud Breault were earned.

Even so, the politics and posturing around the Mildred’s property were always difficult for commissioners to swallow.

Commissioner John Griffin recalled the “intense political pressure” applied to the commission to allow a sober house to be constructed on the property. It was only through Federal Aviation Administration intervention that the project didn’t move forward.

When the airport was looking for creative ways to fund its portion of the new terminal, the lease of Mildred’s, with a potential annual income once estimated at $700,000, wasn’t allowed on the table. That was in deference to town hall, which didn’t want anything to be developed there until traffic was worked out for that strip. A private developer could have developed a reasonable lawsuit for being deprived of its rights. The airport, then over a barrel for its new terminal, was in no position to even complain. That’s also why there’s a screwy traffic plan at the airport rotary.

“The problem is that we were excessively accommodating to them,” commissioner Ron Persuitte said at a recent meeting.

Commissioner Don Megathlin, who has experience on commercial development, did an analysis of the former Mildred’s property, noting the challenges and opportunities it presents. There are some development restrictions with setbacks, zoning districts and FAA runway obstruction free areas, but it’s also on a key commercial highway in a desirable location.

“This is a terrific site if we can solve the problems,” Megathlin concluded.

Talking during a special commission meeting Nov. 7, Persuitte said that there seems to be an opportunity to talk with the town about the property at this point.

It’s one of many breaks from the previous administration that Town Manager Tom Lynch is quietly making. It’s part of a willingness to have conversations and an openness to be convinced a proposal can make sense.

The ball is squarely with the airport commission to develop a plan that can address concerns of the town, the Cape Cod Commission and the FAA, but that’s a position it hasn’t been in for about a decade. With national and regional retailers and developers making moves in Hyannis, now is the time go get remaining questions about the property answered.